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Harald Ringstorff

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Harald Ringstorff
Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
3 November 1998 – 6 October 2008
DeputyHelmut Holter
Preceded byBerndt Seite
Succeeded byErwin Sellering
President of Bundesrat
In office
1 November 2006 – 31 October 2007
PresidentHorst Köhler
ChancellorAngela Merkel
Preceded byPeter Harry Carstensen
Succeeded byOle von Beust
Minister of Justice of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
3 November 1998 – 19 September 2000
Minister-PresidentHarald Ringstorff
Preceded byRolf Eggert
Succeeded byErwin Sellering
Deputy Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
8 December 1994 – 6 May 1996
Minister-PresidentBernd Seite
Preceded byKlaus Gollert
Succeeded byHinrich Kuessner
Minister of Economics and Affairs of European Union of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
8 December 1994 – 6 May 1996
Minister-PresidentBernd Seite
Preceded byHerbert Helmrich (Affairs of European Union)
Conrad-Michael Lehment (Economics)
Succeeded byRolf Eggert (Affairs of European Union)
Jürgen Seidel (Economics)
Leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In office
6 May 1996 – 3 November 1998
Preceded byGottfried Timm
Succeeded byVolker Schlotmann
In office
26 October 1990 – 15 November 1994
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byGottfried Timm
Member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
for Parchim II
(Rostock III; 1990–1994)
(Social Democratic List; 1994–1998; 2006–2011)
In office
26 October 1990 – 4 October 2011
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byThomas Schwarz
Member of the Volkskammer
for Rostock
In office
5 April 1990 – 2 October 1990
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1939-09-25)September 25, 1939
Wittenburg, Nazi Germany
Died19 November 2020(2020-11-19) (aged 81)
Schwerin, Germany
Political partySPD
Ringstorff in 2008

Harald Ringstorff (25 September 1939 – 19 November 2020) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Minister President of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.[1] He headed a coalition government of the SPD and PDS (since 2007 the Left Party, Die Linke) from 1998 until 2006, and subsequently headed a coalition between the SPD and CDU. With a term of almost ten years, he is the longest-serving former incumbent to date (as of 2024). He served as President of the Bundesrat in 2006/07.

After his Abitur and military service, Ringstorff studied Chemistry at the University of Rostock. He received his Ph.D. in 1969. Afterwards he worked as a chemist for the Rostock dockyards. From 1987 to 1990, he was director of the branch office of the VEB Kali-Chemie ("people's enterprise for potash chemistry").[2]

In 1989 Ringstorff was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party in the GDR and a member of the freely elected Volkskammer of 1990. From 1990 to 2003 he was chairman of the SPD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.[2]

Since 1990 Ringstorff has been a member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where he served as parliamentary leader of the SPD from 1990–1994 and 1996-1998. In between he was Minister for Economic and European Affairs and vice-minister-president in a coalition government with the CDU under minister-president Berndt Seite (CDU).[2]

In 1998, the SPD agreed to form a coalition with the PDS (now Left Party), a move controversial within the party. Ringstorff was elected minister-president. His coalition government was re-elected in 2002. After the elections of 2006, he decided to switch to a coalition with the CDU, which would have a more comfortable majority in parliament.

On 6 August 2008, Ringstorff let it be known that he wished to resign as minister-president because of his age. On 6 October, he was succeeded in the office by Erwin Sellering.[1][3]

He died from Parkinson's disease on 19 November 2020.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Buergin, Rainer (6 August 2008). "German State of Mecklenburg Premier Ringstorff Quits, Cites Age". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Ringstorff, Harald * 25.9.1939 Ministerpräsident des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Der adrette Jurist: Ein Jurist aus dem Westen soll Landesvater im Nordosten werden. Erwin Sellering hat derzeit die besten Chancen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Nachfolger von Ministerpräsident Harald Ringstorff zu werden. Sellering gilt als als gelassener Vermittler". Handelsblatt (online). 22 August 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
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